Day 3 - Fever

Hi everyone
My Mom, Dad and myself just got off of SKYPE with Jen, Dean and Cammile! Boy, is she a sweetie pie. They said that she has a fever of 100.4 today (she may have a cold), so Jen and Cammile are resting and staying inside for the day. Dean will be going to Walmart with some of the others to get some things. It's a mile away and will be traveling with transportation set up by the hotel. Their guide goes along with them.

I will try to set up a slide show of some snapshots that I took of our conversation. She was alittle fussy, then Dean came to the rescue with her bottle of formula that the orphanage gave to them and she calmed down. She then started to play or try to touch the keyboard, then played with her rattle. Qiao (pronounced: "Chow") means "good with hands", "creative", "crafty"...which is so true of her as you watch her. She has 4 teeth (2 on bottom and 2 on top), she eats 4 times a day and around 3-4 ounces per meal. She enjoys humming to herself, likes looking at herself in the mirror, and sometimes appears to be speaking Chinese words.

She is a beautiful girl and we wished that we could have picked her up from the screen to hold her and give her a big hug. Until then, Qiao Qiao... or Cammile will be in the loving and caring hands of her proud parents. Jen and Dean are looking great and so relaxed and content with her...it was a sight to see.

I will stay in touch

Gotcha day: Day 1

Email from Jen and Dean: Received: Sun, May 30, 2010 05:43 AM
Hi everyone!!! Hope u alll doing well!!!

We got back to hotel room with Cammile around 510pm and then it's been a whirlwind since.....We finally were able to sign on to internet around 10p tonight.

Here's a synopsis of what happened this afternoon. WOW, we still can't believe it!!

We finally made it to CAMMILE!!!!!! GOTCHA DAY has come and passed......."What a pregnancy we had!!! Longer than an elephant, however, no stretch marks, no hemorrhoids, no episiotomy, no labor pains!! Whew!!!"

Cammile was brought to us from her home 2 hours away by her orphanage director and helpers. We met her at 5p. When we first saw her, she was being held, NOT crying, looked bright-eyed & curious. She looked around and saw all the people around...............then it came................THE TEARS, THE CRYING, THE SCREEEEECHING!!!! Dean and I had no time to cry ourselves, for we "sucked it up" and put our parenting skills in to high gear. We dashed for her, she was handed over to me immediately, we tried to console her but to no avail. "That's ok", we thought. In fact, we were hoping that she would cry when she was given to us -- that means she has stranger anxiety, she established a trust with her caregivers, she is able to bond with others. "It's aaaalllll gooood!!!"

She's soooooo cute and cuddly, and MUCH SMALLER than we expected. We don't know her actual weight but she seems to be about a 6 month old size, however, she seems pretty tall & lanky. She smells sooooooooooo goooooood too!!!!

We fed her as soon as we got back to our hotel room at 510pm, which appeased her, she napped from 7-745p, then changed her diaper (she get one cute little butt), fed her again, changed her diaper again, held her for another 30 minutes or so, then put her down to sleep at 9p. It's now 11p and she's still sound asleep. She's really good!! We also found out that she likes to look at herself in the mirror - it calms her down right away. She also loves to pull my hair! Ouchieeee! She enjoys watching Dean take pictures of her, coo with her, and kiss her. Soooo touching!!!

We took a bunch of pictures of Gotcha Day, but we're not able to send them to you guys.......sorry....things work differently in China. It might be the internet service (or lack thereof) here in China. Pooh, we really were looking forward to showing off Cammile to all of you.

WE LOVE YOU ALLLLLLL VERY MUCH!!

From Our "Family" to your's,

Dean, Lexi, Cammile, & Jenni

Day 2: First Family Outing

Hi everyone, we just received an email from Jen and this is what she wrote:

Hi there!
We just found out today from the orphanage director herself that we're allowed to travel/visit Cammile's orphanage Wednesday. The director is soooo sweet and KNOWS all of our 3 daughters well. She was able to give us some insight as to how Cammile (nickname Qiao Qiao -- pronounced chow chow -- her chinese given name) was at the orphanage, her personality, her likes, etc. WOW! impressive!!! Dean caught it all on tape and I was simply overwhelmed emotionally at how well she knew Cammile (Qiao Qiao).........of course, I cried, couldn't help it.
So, we'll be visiting her orphanage on Wednesday - the director invited all of us for lunch as well.
It's a 2 hour drive to there.

LOVE YOU GUYS!

I tried sending you this email with a picture attached, but no can....it wouldn't go thru.

love ya!
jenn
Received: Sunday May 30, 2010 7:32pm

3 Hrs till Gotcha Cammile!!

Hi everyone,
Jen just wrote a text message and said that they just landed at Nan Chang airport and are waiting for Todd and Naomi to arrive. Their flight was 30 minutes delayed. She said that they will be headed to the hotel to do some paperwork and instead of meeting Cammile at the Civil affairs office across the street from the hotel, they will be meeting their daughters at the hotel around 5:30pm (China time) or 11:30pm our time tonight.

The count down continues!!

They send their love to all of you,
Bev

Message from Jen and Dean in China

Hi all those who are anxiously waiting for an update. This is Bev, Jenni's sister. They are not able to access the blog site in China but as I get any updates, I will post them here.

Today was a free day, they went shopping.

Yesterday they went to the Great Wall.....and what a climb it was!!

Wednesday, they went to Tian An Men Square and the Forbidden City (a 3 1/2 hr walk).

Tomorrow they will be flying to Nanchang and arrive at 1:40pm and either check into their hotel or if there is not enough time, they may just go across the street from their hotel to the civil affairs office and finally get Cammile. Gotcha day!! They are so excited!! Tomorrow night this time, they will have Cammile in their arms!!

Just a reminder in how to figure out what time it is in China. Subtract 6 hours from now and add a day. For example, it's 10:45pm Friday here in Hawaii right now and it's 4:45pm Saturday in China.

We were able to skype them tonight and tomorrow night we will do that again around the same time. They are doing well and were getting ready to meet Wes and Diane and their guide for dinner. Probably Chinese food.

I will post an update again soon.

When Jen and Dean get's back home they will be posting their own updates of Cammile.

Thanks for praying, supporting and encouraging Jen and Dean throughout this time. They are very grateful to know they have their friends and family behind them supporting them each step of the way.

Thank you from Jen and Dean!!

You've Arrived...

Jen and Dean,
We all want you to know that we are praying for you, rooting for you, anticipating with you, and so very happy that you're going to finally meet your daughter, Cammile.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Love,
Mom, Dad, Steve, Bev and Kangkang

Pre-trip Celebration

Thank you Steve for a beautiful Sunday service, we will carry your message in our hearts as we travel to China.



Our family and friends celebrate Cammile with lunch and fellowship, thank you Kang Kang and Bev for the ONO cake.